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TRP: Hansel and Sugar (Host Mishka)
Setting Outside Mishka's estate. Sugar walks alone up the path, determinedly. Normally she would take Goro with her, but Goro still lies locked in his room in the ship, not speaking. She wears pants today, not a dress, and she's armed with a dagger at her hip. But she still wears the jangly silver jewelry Mishka gifted her with, the bell on her tail. Her hair braided back, out of her face. She circles around the building a little, going over it in her head. She's almost got that snapping trip Mishka does down. If he's there, she can crack out of there instantly. Maybe if she finds Hansel she can take him with her. She goes around the back. The estate seems.... normal, and quiet. Samantha is making breakfast in the kitchen. Izzy: Hansel smells bacon. It's confusing for a moment, because for a moment, he forgets that he's not on the ship. They wouldn't have bacon on the ship. Not even after an incredibly good haul would Elitash spring for bacon. No, he's not on the Red Blade. He's just been sleeping so goddamn well that it feels like it's given him a couple more years to live. He snorts to himself as he stretches on the library couch. He'll have to tell Mishka that later. Eh, he might not find it that funny. He pushes himself up and scrubs at his eyes. Mishka's probably in the dining room. Hopefully his talk with Goro went well -- hopefully Ripley's fine. Someone would've woken him if shit went south, anyway. His shield and trident are propped up by the couch, and he goes ahead and grabs them -- he probably should check in on the others today, make sure they're not getting in trouble, setting his damn ship on fire (it's not his ship; what is he thinking?), and it'll keep him from having to come back for them. Sugar is in the dining room. Mishka isn't. He tells himself to not be paranoid, but a twitch immediately goes up his spine. Sugar looks ... tense. Has Sugar ever looked tense before? "Hey, Nixie," he says slowly. "You know where's Mishka's at?" Coyote: Sugar's face still feels swollen from crying, and her usual earrings are gone. She wears no makeup. She swallows and sits down. Hansel looks happy and well-rested, which is not how Hansel normally looks. How does she put this? What does she say? She thinks back to her well-ordered notes and pictures the words. Ways Mishka says to speak to people. Do not pause, hesitate, fumble your words, repeat thoughts, or say 'um.' Think clearly what you'd like to say and say it smoothly. She remembers what Mishka said to her a few days ago, when she asked about it. "There's nothing wrong with the way you speak, precious," he told her. "You know, I don't know if you can tell this, but a lot of people think it's adorable. But sure, if you want to know how to talk like I do sometimes, I can tell you. Maybe it'll be useful if you have something serious to say people ought to pay attention to. It isn't that hard." And he'd started giving her notes. "Mishka..." Her throat feels so tight it hurts. Mishka is dead? Mishka is gone? Mishka is sick, but he'll get better? She doesn't know yet. Izzy: Something's wrong. Something's wrong. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck he knew this was too good to last. His hands itch to grab his trident, but there's nothing to stab here -- he just needs to do something, he wants to punch something, he wants to crack the fine dining table in half. When Jonn whines about things not being fair he has to remind himself that the kid's twenty-three, not eleven, but that's what this is. It's fucking unfair. But Sugar is here. He can't break shit. He forces himself to relax. He takes a deep breath. Mishka is fine. He's gotten himself into some kind of fucking trouble, as usual, but it will be fine. And he needs to tell Nixie that, because she clearly needs to hear it. "Hey." He makes his voice soft, and steps up beside her to tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, give it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay, kid. What's he done now? We'll figure it out." Coyote: "Ripley was arrested," Sugar says, slowly. No hesitating. No 'ums.' The way Mishka said to speak when people ought to pay attention to her, when it was serious. "Goro and the others went to get her and brought her back. The Guild is... wrecked. Everyone is gone. Arrested or-- gone." Fuck, fuck. "We got Ripley onto the ship. We thought everything was okay, thought we were going to handle. And then Mishka--" She snapped her fingers. "Up in the crow's nest. He... came to talk to Goro. He looked happy. He was making jokes. He talked about you, for a moment. Goro asked him to bring you here, but Mishka said he'd like to keep you a while longer. And then Goro--" This part is hard. This part is impossible. She's running on two or three hours of sleep. She came because no one else would, because someone had to get Hansel, and Sugar was going to fucking get this done. Izzy: Hansel grimaces. They should've come to get him. It's his first thought, followed by the sense that it's self-centered. They had handled it without him, it seemed like -- there wasn't much he could do about the entire Guild falling. But -- what is this about Goro? That fucking guy again. Hansel can't even guess if he did something to Mishka or Mishka did something to him. "Goro what, Sugar?" Coyote: "Goro made a deal with a woman named Diva, and he gave her sixty seconds of his time," Sugar says. "And... we thought she was going to use it to attack Ripley. That's what Goro said. He said it was about Ripley. But then Mishka showed up in the crow's nest, and---" Her voice catches. She can remember the sickening crack Mishka's head made when Goro grabbed Mishka's hair and slammed his face into the floor. Izzy: The tension comes back. His right hand curls into a three-fingered fist. He cannot shout. He will not yell at her. "Sugar. What. Did Goro. Do to Mishka." Coyote: She put her face in her hands. She can't do this. She can't do this the way Mishka said to talk. "He, um-- he-- um-- Diva took... took control of Goro, and grabbed Mishka's hair-- and slammed his... f-face into the deck... and..." She can get it out. She needs to get it out. Hansel is upset, she can tell, and she needs to help. "Goro h-had... seeds... larvae... on him, the black parasites we, we told you about. And he put one in Mishka's mouth. And Mishka--" (Mishka is dead? Mishka is gone? Mishka is sick? Mishka needs help? We need to kill Mishka?) "Mishka is like Diva now," Sugar says. "He's-- his eyes are black. He talked like her, in her voice. He's a... h-host. That's w-what... um... the others are... c-calling it. He's not himself anymore, he threw fire at the others, he took Ripley. Diva has him now. Diva took M-Mishka." Izzy: Hansel stares at her. The scent of bacon coming from the kitchen is overpowering suddenly, and he wants to throw up. He feels like he actually might -- no, actually he feel like he might pass out. He grabs the chair next to Nixie and drags it out to sit down heavily before he has a chance to hit the floor. Then he just stares blankly into space for a moment. Everything is quieter, and dimmer, and closing in. It feels like the ocean and thunder and red skies at dawn. But Sugar is crying. "Okay," Hansel says. He makes himself focus in on her. He swallows and puts a hand on her back, patting awkwardly, then giving up and being still. He really doesn't understand her relationship with Mishka, but he knows she lived here, for a while at least, and she hangs on every word Mishka says. This has to be easier on him than it is on her. Has to be. "Okay," he repeats, more firmly this time. The world is coming back into sharper focus again. "All right. Fine. We'll fuckin' ... kill Diva. We'll get him back. No problem." Coyote: "Mishka threw fire at the sh-ship," she choked out. "H-he... almost... killed... Raef. He n-never showed me spells l-like that. I didn't know he... c-could do that. He never acted that s-strong. He took Ripley with him, made her like him. The others are, are talking about... leaving.... leaving them behind, and going to the... Sanctuary. And leaving Mishka while they plan." Izzy: He tries to prioritize mentally. The ship -- is the ship okay? Fuck, is Raef okay? Who else was there -- god, was Jonn on the ship? Would Sugar think to mention him? Not important right now. Couldn't be important. Jonn was fine. The kid was like a cockroach. And if someone had died Sugar would say as much, so he was alive, so he was fine. He rubs her back while he thinks. Mishka and Ripley. He knows he can't fight one of them and expect to win, much less both. They'll have to be separated. What then? Maybe he could go toe-to-toe with Ripley for a couple rounds. He could beat her in a drinking contest. That wasn't helpful. Mishka -- fuck. He couldn't do a goddamn thing to Mishka. "Yeah. No. I think that's probably best." He didn't fucking like it. He knew what she meant -- it felt like abandoning Mishka. "Hey. Nixie." He touches her chin, trying to get her to look at him. Coyote: She looks up at him. It's hard, because her eyes are watering and she doesn't want to meet his eyes. He's upset. Izzy: "Listen. We're gonna fix this." He hates this. Feels like lying. Mishka'd be better at it. "All right? I mean, I don't know how, but we will. The Eldath Sanctuary's a good place to do that." Then he hesitates, wondering if he should say this. "I don't want to leave him either, sweetheart. But we need to regroup." Coyote: She nods, then hides her face in her hands. She takes a shaky breath. With shaking hands, she takes her replacement handkerchief out of her pocket (Goro had the other one, she thought, and she didn't want to ask for it back, because he might need it). She wipes her face and uses a touch of magic to cool it so the swelling in her face goes down. She folds it precisely, sticks it in her pocket, and gets up, clearing her throat. "Sh-shall we go? I should... tell Samantha, and Bethie, and... the others. They ought to-- leave, I th-think." Izzy: "Yeah, I think that'd probably be best." When he stands he realizes his legs are still a little weak, and he grips the back of the chair to stabilize himself. Would Mishka come back? Diva -- would Diva come here? Fuck, he had no idea what she even wanted. Goro had spent much more time talking and haggling with the thing than he had. Maybe he'd have a better idea of what they were up against. He winced a little. Goro hadn't just spent time with her. "Hey, is ... How's fuckin' Goro doing?" Coyote: "Bad," she croaked. "He won't... get out of bed. He's not h-hurt, though. He's fine, he's just all... shook, and not sleeping, and won't eat or talk or look at anyone." Izzy: Hansel grimaces again. This expression is going to get familiar. "Yeah. Well. I'm gonna have to talk to him. He knows more about this Diva shit than any of the rest of us." He pauses. "How's ... everyone else? Raef's all right now? No one else was hurt?" Coyote: "No one. Um, Amari got-- stabbed? But she's... okay now." Helping everyone, walking about, zoned out, but doing her best. Crying quietly on her own when she thought no one was looking. Amari seemed set and focused on healing everyone, keeping herself too busy to cry. "We should go," Sugar says. "Do you... need anything from here?" She needs her things from her room. Some of her dresses and bangles, maybe, and more of her notes she hadn't finished. Some spell components. Sturdy boots. She will have to leave most of the things Mishka bought her. Mishka bought her a lot of things. Most of them were not totally necessary. Izzy: Good. Good. At least that much. If they were all still alive, they had a chance. Maybe not a great chance, but a chance. "No, I've got --." He glanced down at himself. Boots, trident, shield. Essentials. "I'm good. You need anything?" (Would Mishka need anything? It would be fine. He didn't need Mishka's things to memorialize them. It would be fine. They'd come back to the estate and he didn't want to catch Mishka's ribbing for stealing his shit. Always a pirate, right? It would be fine.) Coyote: In the kitchen, there is a retching noise, then a muffled gasp, and Sugar tenses, the hair on the back of her neck standing up straight. She grips Hansel's arm tight. She ignores her instinctive urge to stand behind him. The bacon smells like it's burning, which is strange, because Samantha never lets it burn. There is total silence from the kitchen, now. Izzy: Hansel puts himself between Sugar and the doorway to the kitchen without thinking about it, and after thinking about it, he draws his shield and trident off his back. Maybe he should run. He's not very good at running. Maybe he should tell her to run, but he doesn't think she would. He waits. Coyote: There is a thud from the kitchen, then a rattling noise, then a long silence. Then, casually, Mishka steps out of the next room. He's whistling quietly, putting a stopper in a vial. His body language is different; normally he's carefully controlled, quiet with a bit of swagger. He's unconcerned now. Almost jerky, like he's still getting used to this body. He stops, and his eyes widen when he seems Sugar and Hansel, and his eyes fix on Sugar, and his mouth twists into a wide, white smile. And then his oily, wet black eyes flick over to Hansel. It's hard to tell exactly where he's looking. Mishka is not wearing the mask; his face is bare. "Hello, lover," Mishka says, in that sweet, honeyed voice. Izzy: Hansel's stomach drops. It's different to see it. To hear it. His fucking skin crawls and a phantom pain lances through his right hand. It's not Mishka. He tells himself it's not Mishka. It's fucking Diva, she's just wearing his skin -- but Hansel likes Mishka's skin. The trident's for show. He wonders if Diva can know that, because Mishka does. (Does he?) He swallows. "Get the fuck out of my husband, you slimy piece of shit." Coyote: "Oh, sure, honey," Diva says in Mishka's body. It's her voice, not his, and sounds hideously girlish coming out of his mouth. "Once I'm done with it. But that'll take me a long time. Golly, a few hundred years at least. I like this one. There was only three of me before... then two, when your awful, mean friends killed my poor host in the dwarven ruins... but now there's four. And soon more. A lot more. But this one-- this one's my favorite, I think." For a moment, it almost seems like there's something behind her eyes, and then it's gone. "All the little tricks, " she says in Mishka's body. "All the thinking. Mikhail says hello, Hansel, darling." Sugar's grip tightens on Hansel's arm, ready to go. She can take them back to the ship, she thinks. She's certain of it. The instant it attacks her and Hansel, she can dimension step them away. Sugar's been practicing... the way Mishka said. The host has a vial in its hand, but isn't moving to use it. Just toying with it, with Mishka's delicate, deadly fingers. Izzy: Hansel's shoulders drop a little, and he doesn't catch it. She's fucking with him. She's fucking with him, but if she's not -- if she's not -- He makes himself look into the thing's eyes, grinding his teeth. If Mishka can see him -- if he can hear -- god. Fuck. What is there to lose if he can't? The thing knows it's succeeded in emotionally torturing him? Fuck Diva. Hansel's been emotionally tortured by better. "Mishka," he says softly, "I'm gonna get that thing out of you. You're gonna be okay." His voice shakes. "I promise. Don't be afraid." Coyote: The thing smiles, all white teeth. It's a nasty smile, like an animal baring its teeth, like the thing inside Mishka doesn't quite know how to make facial expressions quite right. "No," it says. "You're not. I wish you could hear the way he's screaming." Fingers on the vial. Diva pops the top off. "But you will in a moment," Diva says. "When you join us." And throws itself at Hansel, reaching, ignoring the trident like it's not there. Sugar shrieks. But she digs her fingers into Hansel's arm-- so hard it'll probably leave bruises later-- and snaps. The dimensional leap is always a shock; there is a sudden, gut-wreching feeling of weightlessness, and then in an instant, it's gone. And together, Sugar and Hansel instantly reappear into an alley in the city. Sugar staggers, her stomach clenching, and crumples over to throw up. The dimensional leap (and Mishka, god, Mishka) was too much. She only got them halfway to the ship. But they're gone. They're out. It's early morning, and the city is still half-asleep. Izzy: Hansel tries to bring his shield up, worried -- for some fucking reason, worried -- that Diva will impale Mishka's body on his trident. That she'll hurt him. Then Sugar screams, and it's cold. And they're somewhere in the city far away, and he drops his weapons, and drops to his knees, and vomits. He always fucking hated that spell. Feels like his stomach is still at the estate. Feels like everything in his chest cavity is still at the estate, but for a different reason. He's not sure when the retches turn to sobs, but when he realizes it, he tries to stop and runs a hand over his face roughly before turning to Nixie. She's ... not doing great either. Instinctively, he grabs her in a tight hug, and still trying to control his breathing, he chokes out, "Hey. You did good. You did real good." Coyote: She nods shakily. Hansel, she realizes, is weeping. He doesn't completely seem aware of it. Just tears running down his face, eyes wide with horror. He seems more focused on comforting her than taking care of himself. She lets him cling to her for a moment, and clings back. Her body is still shaking with adrenaline. But yes. She did good. She can do this. She has to. Everyone else is panicking. There is no one else. She can do this. She wipes her tears away, helps Hansel up, and they head towards the ship. The city is still quiet, still waking up. It's only morning. People pass by as though nothing is wrong, the baker setting up in his shop, a fish merchant stocking his stand. And, for a moment, Sugar pretends everything is fine. END Category:Text Roleplay Category:Hansel Category:Sugar